1. Field of the Invention
The disclosed subject matter relates to an entrance floor system for use in residential or commercial establishments. Particularly, the present disclosed subject matter is directed to an entrance floor system including a plate with a pattern machined therein.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of flooring designs and construction methods are known for entrance ways to office buildings, stores, residences and the like which are frequently provided with gratings which are recessed into the foundation so as to be flush with the floor surface. These gratings are designed to facilitate the removal of debris, such as dirt, snow, water and the like from footwear of pedestrian traffic entering the structure.
Typical forms of such entrance gratings include a plurality of elongated rigid rails arranged in side-by-side, parallel relationship. These rails are generally rectangular and sized to extend large distances, and in some embodiments, over the entire entrance floor area such that a single grate can span the entire entrance floor area. The size and weight of such large gratings can present numerous problems with respect to installation and maintenance, as handling of such cumbersome gratings can prove hazardous and require assistance by numerous service personnel. An example of such prior art designs is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,253, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Alternative prior art floor structures are configured as a roll-up design in which rails are joined or interconnected to adjacent rails by a flexible hinge member. Similar to the prior art designs discussed above, these roll-up mats are typically elongated rigid rails arranged parallel to each other and extend over the entire entrance floor area. Consequently, these roll-up designs are prone to similar installation and maintenance problems. Furthermore, these mats are restricted to a predominantly linear appearance. An example of such a roll-up floor mat is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,029,834 and 4,877,672 which are hereby incorporated by reference, in their entireties.
Floor mats are also known which are directly supported by a floor surface and may either be placed directly thereon or in a slight recess. While floor mats are typically made of lighter materials and may be of a smaller size than the metal gratings discussed above, such floor mats require more frequent cleaning than the previously described grill and grating systems because less space is provided for the accumulation of foreign material. The capacity of such a floor mat to accumulate foreign material is generally limited by the amounts which may be retained in the tread material. As these spaces fill with dirt or become saturated with water, the floor mat tends to lose its ability to clean the footwear of pedestrians passing across the base mat. Also, the tread surfaces of such floor mats are generally not replaceable and lack the strength and durability of rigid rails.
Modular entrance floor systems are also known which can allow for the replacement and installation of individual floor modules. An example of such a modular entrance floor system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,291,670, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
There remains a need for a light weight entrance floor system which can be custom designed to a particular appearance, size and/or shape which allows for easy installation and removal. Further, an entrance floor system which allows for a variety of surface floor features and aesthetics is desired to provide greater flexibility and customization for a variety of architectures and entrance appearances.